Entry requirements

Cs or above at A Level (for an Advanced Apprenticeship, Paralegal Apprenticeship or Solicitor Apprenticeship)

5 GCSEs at grades A*-C (for an Intermediate Apprenticeship)

You need to be UK or EEA citizen or have been a UK or EEA resident for at least 3 years

You will need to be 16 by the time your start your apprenticeship

Assessment

There are two aspects to an apprenticeship: employment experience and training.

You will be supervised at work by your day-to-day manager, and also receive support from a training manager within your organisation. They will be there to monitor your work and generally guide you during your apprenticeship.

Your academic training will be undertaken by CILEx Law School. We will also assess your progress in developing the workplace skills, or competences, to the standards required
by the apprenticeship. You will receive regular visits from a CILEx Law School assessor at your place of work to assist you with your studies and to keep track of your progress. Assessment is by way of a combination of examination and coursework

Financial information

There are a whole range of benefits to doing an apprenticeship, including:

salary:
this may not seem all that important now if your parents are supporting you, but getting a salary straight out of school can provide you with some level of financial freedom and independence. This could allow you to attain some of your goals: our apprentices
say they were able to buy a car, plan a great holiday or set up a savings plan with a view to purchasing a house, for example

work experience:
when employers are surveyed to find out what they look for in young recruits, one thing that always features is experience and business awareness. With an apprenticeship, you can get a head start on other candidates by having hands-on experience in the workplace

training:
an apprenticeship combines both real world and further education experience. You will learn the ins-and-outs of how an organisation works on a day-to-day basis and also learn the theory behind the tasks you undertake

avoid debt:
by doing an apprenticeship you can also avoid some of the burdens that come with uni, such as bank overdrafts or student debt, which can run into the tens of thousands of pounds. With uni tuition and living costs going up, and students facing years of repayments
once they do start working, an apprenticeship is a good way of dodging a long term financial commitment.

Further information

Comparing a legal apprenticeship with a law degree is not straightforward. There is value in both options. If you want to avoid debt, then being employed as an apprentice has its attractions. Typical debt levels of undergraduates are estimated at upwards
of £40,000, which has to be repaid after you graduate. Often in the form of government loans, this debt will be paid off once the graduate is earning a salary over £21,000.

The arguments in favour of university were more compelling when it was the exclusive route into a professional career. That situation is changing, with young people able to access a career in law as a
Chartered Legal Executive or solicitorthrough the apprenticeship route (in fact, the Chartered Legal Executive route
has been open to non-graduates for over 50 years).

There are non-monetary reasons for attending university: the social life and other activities that universities offer. But
our apprentices tell us that their apprenticeship doesn’t prevent them from having a social life and their salary allows them to aspire to more (holidays, savings plan, car, etc.).

It is also worth noting that the options are not mutually-exclusive and you can go on to do a degree at uni after completing a lower level apprenticeship.

How to apply

If you want to apply for this course, you will need to contact CILEx Law School Ltd directly.